Chapter 24: Mito’s Concerns

“My grandmother wants to see you tonight to talk about something. Just you.”

Yujin was surprised. He didn’t expect an invitation from Mito for a private conversation.

“Alright.”

But he didn’t mind and was curious about what she wanted to talk about.

The two continued to sit on the garden bench in silence. Tsunade leaning her head on Yujin’s shoulder, seeking emotional support. She was becoming emotionally dependent on Yujin, something he noticed but didn’t know what to do about it.

As a friend, supporting her was right, but perhaps the recent events had been too harsh, making her overly dependent—a temporary state, he hoped.

Tsunade is a strong and independent woman. Depending on him goes against her inherent nature, something negative for her, Yujin understood.

Only time will tell if this dependence is temporary or not, however.

At night, Yujin was getting ready to meet Mito. Today, due to the private meeting with Mito, Yujin and Tsunade weren’t going to drink together, so she was at her house with Shizune.

Along the way, he wondered what the meeting was about. His assumption was that it had to do with Tsunade.

The mansion was quiet. The guards let Yujin in easily; they already knew he was coming. The mansion’s housekeeper led Yujin to Mito’s room and bid him farewell.

“I’m coming in.”

Yujin announced and slowly opened the door to the room.

“Come, let’s talk.”

Before he could fully open it, a voice came from inside, and Yujin entered completely, seeing the elderly woman sitting in a chair. In front of her, a table, a teapot, and two cups.

Yujin sat in the other chair, observing the full cup in front of him.

“Good evening, ma’am. I honestly didn’t expect this invitation. You’ve been receiving people all day; I bet you must be very tired.”

“Yes, but it’s a necessary process. My death will bring many problems to the village; it’s important to make preparations in advance. Please, drink and make yourself comfortable.”

Yujin took the cup and had a sip. He never really liked tea, even from the world he came from, but obviously, he wouldn’t be impolite at this moment. Seeing him drink and then look at her as if unsure what to say, Mito smiled and commented while sipping her tea.

“It must be challenging to find topics to talk about with someone like me. Especially considering you might be from the past, it can’t be easy to adapt to a completely different society.”

“Yes ... It’s difficult. This place is very different from where I came from, in terms of culture and society. I hope you don’t take offense, but where I come from, a person like you doesn’t exist. I mean, in the sense of a powerful woman with a lot of influence. Where I come from, and I don’t know if it’s another world or the past, women don’t have power. They usually stay at home, taking care of the house and children. Rare examples of powerful women are wives or concubines of Emperors or feudal lords.”

Yujin paused here to take a sip of tea, then continued.

“So, it’s been challenging for me to adapt to this different place, but I learn quickly. It’s not like I had a normal upbringing; I was constantly traveling, and there were different customs in different regions. I’m used to adapting.”

Mito nodded slightly, not feeling offended.

“Maybe it’s not so different nowadays. Although women clearly have more power today, I only have my influence in the village because my husband was the First Hokage.”

Yujin was surprised by Mito’s words, not expecting her to speak like that. From what he heard from Tsunade, Mito is not just the wife of the First Hokage; that’s just one of her many titles.

“You must be joking, ma’am. From what I’ve heard from Tsunade, your life story goes far beyond being the wife of the First Hokage. The most powerful fuinjutsu user in the history of Uzushiogakure. The one responsible for the current distribution system of Bijuus among the villages. The Jinchuuriki of the Nine-Tails who never went out of control. Your contributions to the village are so significant, maybe even greater than those of the First Hokage, if I may say, so I don’t believe your words, even if you said them yourself.”